Portal:Piracy/Selected picture
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- July 2007
Howard Pyle's illustration of pirate walking the plank, a form of murder or torture that was practiced by pirates and other rogue seafarers. It involved the victim being forced to walk off the end of a wooden plank or beam extended over the side of a ship, thereby falling into the water to drown, sometimes with bound hands or weighed down, often into the vicinity of sharks (which would often follow ships). The earliest use of the phrase dates back to 1769 but it is not known how long the method of making someone walk a plank in order to send them overboard had been practiced.
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- August 2007
Howard Pyle's fanciful painting of Captain Kidd and his ship, the Adventure Galley, in a New York City harbor. The Adventure Galley was a three-mast square-rigged ship, which weighed 287 tons, had 34 cannons, and a crew of about 150. When it was badly leaking it was lost in San Maria, a formable pirate base. It was stripped and the rest burned. It still remains in the shallow bay of the island.
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- September 2007
Howard Pyle's illustration of pirate buried treasure. Buried treasure is an important part of the popular beliefs surrounding pirates. According to popular conception, pirates often buried their stolen fortunes in remote places, intending to return for them later (often with the use of treasure maps). However, in reality, the only pirate known to have done this was William Kidd, who is believed to have buried at least some of his wealth on Long Island before sailing into New York.
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- October 2007
Howard Pyle's illustration of pirate marooning. Marooning is leaving someone behind on purpose in an uninhabited area, such as an uninhabited island. The chief practitioners of marooning were 17th and 18th century pirates, to such a degree that they were frequently referred to as "marooners." The pirate articles of captains Bartholomew Roberts and John Phillips specify marooning as a punishment for cheating one's fellow pirates or other offenses.
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- November 2007
A merchant seaman practices with a 12 gauge shotgun to repel pirates. Pirates often operate in regions of developing or struggling countries with smaller navies and large trade routes. Pirates sometimes evade pursuers by sailing into waters controlled by their enemies. With the end of the Cold War, navies have decreased size and patrol, and trade has increased, making organized piracy far easier. Modern pirates are sometimes linked with organized-crime syndicates, but often are parts of small individual groups. Pirate attack crews may consist of 4 to 10 sailors for going after a ship's safe (raiding) or up to 70 (depending entirely on the ships and the ships crew size) if the plan is to seize the whole vessel.
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- December 2007
Howard Pyle's illustration of pirates looting. Looting, sacking, plundering, despoiling, or pillaging is the indiscriminate taking of goods by force as part of a military or political victory, or during a catastrophe or riot, such as during war, natural disaster, or rioting. The term is also used in a broader (some would argue metaphorical) sense, to describe egregious instances of theft and embezzlement, such as the "plundering" of private or public assets by corrupt or overly greedy corporate executives or government authorities. The proceeds of all these activities can be described as loot, plunder, or pillage.
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- January 2008
Dead men tell no tales is the practice of killing pirates after hiding treasure so that they will not tell anyone. It can also be so others will not know about a crime committed.
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- February 2008
Howard Pyle's illustration of Pierre Le Grand attacking a Spanish captain in his cabin. He was a Caribbean buccaneer of the 17th century. He is known to history only from one source, Alexandre Exquemelin's Buccaneers of America, and may be imaginary. Pierre le Grand is known only for his attack on a Spanish galleon near the coast of Hispaniola in the 17th century.
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- March 2008
Awilda was the legend of the daughter of a 5th century Scandinavian king, who became a pirate. She and her friends dressed up as sailors and commandeered a ship. Following many battles, they were finally defeated by the Crown Prince of Denmark, who married her.
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